Kith DwarfDwarves have an ancient and illustrious past, appearing side-by-side with Trolls in the most ancient sagas. Of course, these sagas are not told the same way to outsiders, but more on that later. Kithain who are aware of modern dwarves and like to categorize things have considered dwarves to be a type of nocker, a claim much disputed by both sides. Neither are dwarves related to boggans, having only short stature in common. Dwarves have a saying, "Boggans can do it fast, but they can't do it well. Nockers can do it with inspiration, but they can't do it with perfection."
A dwarf considers himself the ultimate craftsman of the fae - taking his time, being patient, crafting an item until it is perfect. In fact, there is a legend among the dwarves that one of their own taught Dougal his craft. It is further said that this was the start of the dwarves' downfall. For, as is told elsewhere, Dougal had a hand in creating silver, a source of consternation among the dwarves for the rift it caused with the Garou. Yet the dwarves coveted this precious and lovely metal, and began to work with it, trying to perfect it into a form they called "truesilver." It was a constant pain for them, much like the Philosopher's Stone for alchemists, for the dwarves could never quite get it right. By the way, truesilver did appear in the Dreaming (rumored to have been perfected by House Dougal craftsmen in Arcadia), but almost none made it to the Autumn World until after the Resurgence.
Then came the act which would shame the dwarves for all time. No other kith remembers this, for the Tuatha were gracious in their curse on the dwarves. Many dwarves resented Dougal and his craft and his silver. They were the ones most aligned with the Trolls, and harkened back to the wild and warlike days before the sidhe arrived. So they contrived with some humans who valued tools as well, and hated the sidhe. What the dwarves didn't realize was that these humans hated all non-humans, not just sidhe. These dwarves helped in the creation of Cold Iron, meant to be a powerful, destructive force against the sidhe. These same dwarves were very surprised when the humans quickly turned the Cold Iron weapons against them - all suffered Fae Death. A Tuatha appeared before the Great Warlord of the Dwarves, and informed him of what happened. Then the Tuatha pronounced the Curse of Deformity upon the dwarves, marking their entwinement with House Dougal for all time, but graciously hiding the dwarves' involvement with the creation of Cold Iron from all other fae, also for all time. Yet, each dwarf knows of his kith's involvement, and carries this in his heart always.
Since dwarves have always loved to work with iron, many came upon Cold Iron unaware, which proved their Undoing, and often led to their Fae Death. Because of this, the Dwarven Kith has been decimated. Due to their love of the earth, no dwarves made it into the Dreaming when the Shattering hit. Dwarves often fought bitter battles with the humans over coveted mines during the aftermath of the Shattering, and often human scouts would just follow the trail of a dwarf to find a new source of ore or gems. The presence of dwarves in North Georgia led to Andrew Jackson's heinous actions on behalf of European-Americans in that area, and the presence of dwarves in South Africa led to the Dutch seizure of power there.
As a consequence, there are only around 100 dwarves in all of Concordia today, with equivalent low numbers elsewhere. The dwarves are highly sought after by sidhe as master crafters (next to House Dougal), but the dwarves keep an extremely low profile and maintain their taciturn ways. Dwarves keep open the ties with trolls, and are the source of many trollish weapons and armor. For their part, the trolls keep closemouthed about the dwarves, and retell legends without the dwarven participation.
Most dwarves are Seelie - the Unseelie ones suffered the heavier losses during the Interregnum. Still, great rage can force a dwarf over to his Unseelie side for a while, just as acts of creation tend to bring dwarves to their Seelie side. Dwarves do like their drink, if nothing else but to help forget what their kith did. The kith as a whole is beaten-down and almost broken - only the fact that they create so much keeps the kith from suffering Undoing en masse. And while many tales tell of their involvement in the circles of power in the past, nowadays, they'd rather be left alone, and just help their friends.
The mortal appearance of dwarves tends to be short, stocky and hairy, sometimes with malformed feet. Their fae appearance exaggerates this to a great degree: dwarves are never more than 4'6" tall, have beards down below their belt, large noses, wide hands, and deformed feet (see Frailties, below). Dwarven voices tend to be guttural and harsh. Very few dwarves are women - no one yet knows why.
Dwarves can be found working in steel factories, mines of any sort, construction, and sometimes archeology. Others live as itinerant craftsmen or "mountain men;" distillers and such.
Childlings are quiet and physical, liking to help with fix-it projects around the home, making earth and tree forts, and creating chimera as an interest.
Wilders start the long, almost impossible task of finding a Grump Dwarf to which to apprentice themselves. They feel the pull of creation and crafting, but know they need a guiding hand.
Grumps settle down as masters of their craft, keeping an ear out for younger dwarves - they never solicit apprentices, but endeavor to make themselves "heard of" by prospective Wilders. Grumps continue to produce crafts, and while away the hours with song and stories of glorious deeds.
Forge Chimera (as Nockers)
Blessing of the Mountains: All Dwarves receive an additional dot of Stamina during character creation, even if it raises this Trait above 5. Grumps also get an additional dot of Strength, even if it raises this Trait above 5. The extra Stamina functions normally in the presence of the unenchanted, but the Strength does not.
Taciturn: Dwarfs are insular, taciturn, and downright rude when dealing with outsiders, so much that all social interactions are at +3 difficulty when dealing with those not of close kin or close friends.
Curse of Deformity: Stemming from the ancient curse, the feet of all Dwarves are misshapen: they may be clubfooted, backwards, paw-like, etc. This has the effect of the Lame disadvantage upon the entire kith.
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